Unrest
The trade union of Hyundai Motor Company announced on Sept. 10 that 77.94 percent of its 48,585 members voted for a strike on the previous day. Therefore the trade union is about to go on a strike for the fourth consecutive year.
The 22nd round of negotiations between the union and management broke down on Aug. 27, as the latter suggested nothing as to pay and any collective agreement. At present, the union is insisting on a 7.84 percent increase in base pay and a payment of 30 percent of the current net income as an incentive, along with a contract for a full employment guarantee covering regular and temporary employees at the same time. The union is opposed to the wage peak, too.
According to industry data, the 64,956 employees of the automaker, including 4,129 temps, received an average salary of about 97 million won (US$82,012) per person and recorded an average period of employment of 16.9 years last year. The average wage was much higher than that of the employees of Toyota (8.38 million yen or US$69,434) and that of those working for Volkswagen (64,783 euros or US$73,121). Last year, Korean automakers posted a wages-to-sales ratio of 12 percent, exceeding that of Toyota and Volkswagen each by a margin of 4.2 percentage points and 1.4 percentage points.
Meanwhile, the per-capita sales of the employees of Korean automakers totaled 747.06 million won (US$631,631) during the same period, far lower than Toyota’s US$1.3 million, Volkswagen’s US$724,686, and GM’s US$818,341.